Entertainment briefs

Upright Citizens Brigade to perform today
DURHAM – The Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company will perform an evening of improv and comedy at 8 p.m. today at the Carolina Theatre.
Upright Citizens Brigade is an improv and sketch comedy theater and accredited school founded by Amy Poehler in 1999, with locations in New York and Los Angeles. The touring company tours nationally and performs more than 200 shows a year.
For tickets, call 919-560-3030 or visit www.carolinatheatre.org.

Duke to hold benefit for Syrian children
DURHAM -- Syrian-American composer and human rights activist Malek Jandali will perform a benefit concert to help children in Syria on Thursday. The concert, which is free and open to the public, takes place from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Nelson Music Room on Duke’s East Campus. A reception will follow. Street parking is available around East Campus.
Voluntary donations to Life USA (www.lifeusa.org) will be collected at the door by the Duke Muslim Student Association.
For information on Jandali’s work visit http://www.malekjandali.com. The concert is presented by the Duke Middle East Studies Center and co-sponsored by the Duke Muslim Students Association, the Duke Islamic Studies Center and the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies.

Harum, ‘Two Man Group’ tickets on sale today
DURHAM – Tickets for two events at the Carolina Theatre go on sale at 10 a.m. today. Procol Harum, best known for their 1967 hit “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” will perform at the theater July 19. Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood, also called “Two Man Group,” best know for their work on the improv show “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” will perform June 15.
For tickets, call 919-560-3030 or visit www.carolinatheatre.org.

New exhibit at WomanCraft
CARRBORO – WomanCraft, at 370 E. Main St., Suite 170, will present new work by Chapel Hill artist Gina Boyle April 3-17.
Boyle creates mixed-media mosaics, composed of her signature quotation tiles, handmade sculptural tiles, stained glass, fine china, beads, vintage jewelry, and more. Her work has been featured at national art shows, including the 57th Art Fair (Chicago), the Manayunk Arts Festival (Philadelphia), Art on the Square (Williamsburg, Va., and Artsplosure (Raleigh).
On April 11, she will create mosaics live at WomanCraft, and custom mosaics may be designed to order right at her worktable during the Second Friday ArtWalk reception on from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
WomanCraft is an all-local self-sustaining co-op of more than 70 artisans. For information, call 919-929-3300 or visit womancraftgifts.com.

Queernival coming to Durham
DURHAM -- On April 12 from noon to 5 p.m. (rain date, April 19) youth of all ages, adult allies and nonprofit organizations will come together at 304 E. Trinity Ave. to participate in Queernival. This event will include organizing, pie-throws, food, play, dance art, and performance. The Queernival is a Southern celebration of youth liberation from adultism, homophobia, racism, sexism and all other forms of oppression.
Youth-led organizations such as high school Gay-Straight Alliances may reserve a booth to host a carnival game, run a contest, serve homemade treats or promote a cause. Booth reservations can be made at the Queernival website, www.insideout180.org/queernival/, and are free for all youth. Larger organizations may reserve a booth for a donation on a sliding scale of $0-$200. Any group is invited to contribute fliers, pamphlets, ’zines, stickers or anything else to the networking table. Proceeds from Queernival booths will support local GSAs and other youth-led initiatives.
Queernival will also feature a drag show by local youth as well as performances by young musicians, local food, raffles and auctions. Those who wish to participate in the drag show or to volunteer may sign up on the Queernival website.
Queernival is a program of The NC Queer Youth Power Coalition, a collaboration of three local groupus: QORDS, Youth Organizing Institute, and iNSIDEoUT/Upsidedown.

Library to present story festival
DURHAM -- Durham County Library will host a Celebration of Storytelling today at the Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St. “Storytelling 101: Telling Your Story!” starts at 2 p.m., and the Durham County Storytelling Festival begins at 6:30 p.m.
Presented by Emmy Award-winning storyteller Willa Brigham, Storytelling 101 (2 to 4 p.m.) will bring stories to life with energy, rhythm, rap and rhyme. Participants will also have the chance to tell their own stories in this interactive session. The program is appropriate for school-age children and families, and registration is required.
The Durham County Storytelling Festival will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Featured storytellers include Ron Jones, Willa Brigham and Alan Hoal. This event is open to children and families of all ages. No registration is required for this session.
Attendees are also encouraged to visit the Durham Comics Project Comics Contraption in the lobby of the Main Library throughout the day of the festival. As part of “Storytelling Through Comics – Draw Your Life!,” participants are encouraged to add their own panel to a comic already in progress This portion of the event is open to children and families of all ages. No registration is required.
For information about the festival, contact Lauren Doll at 919-560-7410 or visit durhamcountylibrary.org.

Pauper Players to present ‘Avenue Q’
CARRBORO – The UNC Pauper Players, a student-run theater company, will present “Avenue Q,” a musical filled with satire, sass, and puppetry.
Performances run from April 4 through April 7 at 8 p.m. at The ArtsCenter, 300-G E. Main St. Tickets are $5 for students, $7 for Friends of the ArtsCenter, and $10 for adults. To purchase, call the ArtsCenter Box Office at 919-929-2787 or visit www.artscenterlive.org. (This musical is suggested for those ages 16 and up.)

Temptations, Four Tops to return
DURHAM -- Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Temptations and The Four Tops will return to the Durham Performing Arts Center on Sept. 26. Their last two performances were sold out and Triangle fans can expect this show to follow suit.
Both groups were central to the Motown Sound. The Temptations’ hits include "My Girl," "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," "Since I Lost My Baby," "Get Ready," and more.
The Four Tops' list of hits includes "Baby, I Need Your Loving," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," and "It's the Same Old Song.,"
Tickets go on sale today at 10 a.m. and are available at www.DPACnc.com, at the box office at 919-680-2787, or through Ticketmaster.com.

Mallarmé to present house concerts
DURHAM -- The Mallarmé Chamber Players will present their annual Gala House Concert fundraiser April 5 at 7:30 p.m. with music written especially for Mallarmé during their 30-year history. In memory of composer Robert Ward, who passed away last April at the age of 95, Mallarmé will present his “Serenade for Mallarmé,” commissioned and first performed in 1991.
In addition to the Serenade for Mallarmé, music for flute, viola, cello and piano will be presented including the “Three Bagatelles” (2007) by Paul Schoenfield and a new work written especially for the occasion by Durham composer Bo Newsome.
The following day, April 6 at 12:30 p.m., the ensemble will present a family concert — a truncated version of the gala concert program. The concert, titled “Meet the Composer,” will focus on the elements of music composition — melody, harmony, rhythm and texture. This concert is for children ages 5-12 and their families.
Tickets for the gala, to be held at The Larson House, Home of Wendy Robineau and Donald Beskind, are $75, which includes dessert reception and silent auction.
Tickets are available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/440519. Tickets for the family concert $5 for children 12 and under, and $10 for adults. Tickets are available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/441593. For information, call 919-560-2788.

Beethoven in Baldwin
DURHAM -- The Duke Symphony Orchestra and Duke Chorale, with members of the Choral Society of Durham, will present Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor ("Choral Symphony"), conducted by Harry Davidson in Baldwin Auditorium.
The concert will be held April 5 at 8 p.m. Featuring soloists will be Andrea Moore, soprano; Elizabeth Tredent, alto; Timothy Culver, tenor; Brian Johnson, baritone.
Tickets are $10 general admission, free for students. To purchase, visit tickets.duke.edu or call 919-684-4444.

Different Drum seeks Havana fare
DURHAM -- Trumpeter Alex Weiss and his band Different Drum have been invited to perform in Santiago de Cuba at the Fiesta del Fuego July 3-9.
The band is raising funds to travel to and stay a week in Santiago, Cuba (pending permission from the Department of State).
Different Drum will hold a fundraising concert at Old Havana Sandwich shop, 310 E. Main St., from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday. In lieu of a cover charge there will be a raffle ($10 tickets) with several offerings, among them a music lesson with Weiss, a two-book box set covering the history of the African Diaspora from professor Lisa A. Lindsay, two tickets to a slide show, music, food and stories presentation of our week in Santiago, and a four-CD box set of Alex Weiss & Different Drum.
Raffle tickets are on sale now. You don’t have to be there to win. For information, email alex_differentdrum@yahoo.com or visit www.differentdrum.us.

Last Fridays events continue
HILLSBOROUGH – The extended season of the Hillsborough Arts Council’s Last Fridays Art Walk continues on March 28. Many Last Fridays Art Walk venues will have artist and opening receptions from 6 to 9 p.m.
The Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery and Gift Shop at 102 N. Churton St. presents "Between the Silence: Exploring Color Through Music," featuring recent paintings and encaustics by Amy Fletcher. The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts at 121 N. Churton St. presents “Flights of Fancy,” featuring kiln-formed glass by Susan Hope, paintings by Eduardo Lapetina and photography by Eric Saunders.
For information on the Last Fridays Art Walk, contact the Hillsborough Arts Council at 919-643-2500, www.hillsboroughartscouncil.org or the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough/Orange County Visitors’ Center at 919-732-7741 or www.visithillsboroughnc.org.